Numbers 1-12 And Attached Walls And Railings

Wykeham Terrace, Numbers 1-12, with attached walls and railings

A terrace of twelve terraced houses built between 1827 and 1830, constructed in stucco with slate roofs. The buildings display Tudor-Gothic styling and form a composition with a distinctive centrepiece and pavilion arrangement.

The terrace rises to 2 and 3 storeys over basement with dormer windows. Most buildings have a 3-window frontage, but Numbers 1 and 6 have 4 windows, and Number 7 has 7 windows across its frontage. The entrance doors feature Tudor-arched openings with hoodmoulds. All ground and first floor windows are flat-arched, divided into two lancets with a single slim transom across each lancet, and set beneath hoodmoulds. A moulded storey band runs between ground and first floors. The first-floor windows have a moulded sill band, and the space between the storey band and sill band is decorated with alternating shields and quatrefoils in a rhythm of two shields followed by one quatrefoil. The buildings are finished with a moulded cornice and embattled parapet interrupted by gabled dormers in the mansard roof. The dormers have pointed-arched windows except to Number 8. Octagonal chimney stacks rise from party walls, except between Numbers 1 and 2, and between Numbers 8 and 9.

The centrepiece, comprising most of Number 8 and part of Number 7, features a 3-storey 5-sided bay with 5-sided angle-buttresses to the front. The upper storey continues above the parapet and is detailed as the rest of the terrace, except that the central window is pointed-arched with decorative tracery beneath a small gable. The parapet is decorated with openwork, though the pinnacle details to the buttresses are now lacking. Two outer angle bays of 2 storeys flank this centrepiece, with pointed-arched windows to ground floors and elliptical-arched windows to first floors.

Numbers 1 and 12 have 3-sided bays with stepped buttresses terminating in pinnacles at the angles. Number 1 has a principal entrance in its southernmost bay with an original Tudor-arched doorcase, panelled door of original design, sidelights, and overlight. Number 12 has its side entrance on the northern return.

Individual houses retain various original features: Number 1 has diagonal glazing bars throughout; Number 2 has a decorative overlight, panelled door of original design now glazed, and diagonal glazing bars to ground and first floors; Number 3 has a panelled door of original design now glazed and diagonal glazing bars throughout; Number 4 has a panelled door of original design now glazed and diagonal glazing bars to ground and first floors; Number 5 has a panelled door of original design now glazed; Number 6 has a panelled door of original design now glazed and diagonal glazing bars throughout; Number 7 has an entrance set back under a Tudor-arched porch and diagonal glazing bars throughout. Numbers 8 to 12 have replacement doors of a standard design.

The interiors were not inspected.

Cast-iron area railings with trefoil finials enclose the front gardens, some railings probably being replacements. Stucco walls with gabled coping and gabled piers define the front gardens. Two Tudor-arched gateways provide access; the southern gateway features mouldings, hoodmould, embattled parapet and pinnacles, while the northern gateway has mouldings, cornice, embattled parapet and pinnacles but no hoodmould. An octagonal pier, possibly part of a former gate, also survives.

In 1855, part of this terrace was linked to properties in Queen's Square to become St Mary's Home for Female Penitents, a home for reformed prostitutes established by George Wagner. The actress Dame Flora Robson lived at Number 7.